Court told of Canberra bomb plot

Page Tools

A Perth man, Jack Roche, went to Afghanistan and was trained by al-Qaeda in the use of powerful explosives as part of a conspiracy to bomb Israeli interests in Australia, including the Israeli embassy in Canberra, a court was told yesterday.

Roche met three senior al-Qaeda leaders and during a meeting at a training camp outside Kandahar in 2000 was personally ordered by Osama bin Laden to conduct the Australian bombings, the court was told.

The claims were made on the opening day of what is expected to be a three-week trial of Roche for conspiracy to conduct the attacks.

One witness told the Supreme Court of Western Australia that Roche had told him the plan was for "hit and run" tactics in which attackers would strike and then disappear back into the Australian community, only to emerge and attack again.

Potential targets discussed by the senior al-Qaeda leaders included prominent Melbourne Jewish leader and businessman Joseph Gutnick, who at the time was president of the Melbourne Football Club. The plot came to nothing.

Roche, 50, an English-born convert to Islam, is accused of conspiring between February and September 2000, in Malaysia, Pakistan and Afghanistan, with al-Qaeda leaders to carry out the attacks in Australia. He has pleaded not guilty.

AdvertisementAdvertisement

The al-Qaeda leaders named in court as part of the conspiracy were Mukhtar, Abu Hafs and Saif.

Ron Davies, QC, for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, said Mukhtar was a senior member of al-Qaeda in Karachi, Pakistan, Abu Hafs was second in command of al-Qaeda and Saif was a senior member of the organisation in Afghanistan.

He said a series of meetings involving Roche and the leaders had agreed "to do things in Australia".

Operations were initially canvassed against US and Israeli interests, but this was later changed to Israeli interests only and changed again from an attack on the Israeli consulate in Sydney and the embassy in Canberra to just an attack on the embassy.

Mr Davies said the Crown evidence would include Roche's notes on what had been planned and his proposed role, photographs and videotapes taken by Roche relating to the operation, telephone intercepts and witness accounts of Roche telling them what was proposed.

Mr Davies also gave details of Roche carrying notes between the senior al-Qaeda leaders in Malaysia, Pakistan and Afghanistan and travelling to the training camp with the help of the Taliban.

Roche is alleged to have accepted thousands of dollars from Mukhtar to finance the operations, including the purchase of surveillance equipment, and to finance a Caucasian al-Qaeda cell.

Roche was to get $US8000 from alleged Jemaah Islamiah leader Hambali in Malaysia and from Mukhtar, but returned to Perth with only $US3500-$4000 from Mukhtar because Hambali did not have the money.

Roche allegedly told friends that bin Laden wanted the attacks carried out to bring the cause of the Palestinian people to the world's notice.

Roche, according to witness Ibrahim Fraser, said he had wanted to "make jihad" in Afghanistan, fighting against the Northern Alliance, and had travelled from Australia to Malaysia and then to Pakistan.

On his return, Roche is alleged to have photographed and videotaped the Israeli consulate in Sydney and the Israeli embassy in Canberra to prepare an attack.

Mr Fraser, a convert to Islam and friend of Roche, told the court Roche had told him between 20 and 25 times over a number of years that bin Laden had ordered the attack against Israeli targets in Australia.

"He told me it was bin Laden's way to remind the people of the problem of the people in Palestine," Mr Fraser said.

Mr Fraser, a former explosives expert in the mining industry, said he had met Roche at mosque in Sydney and that Roche had told him that he had been at a training camp in the Blue Mountains, and that it was "OK to make jihad against the non-Muslims".

Mr Fraser told the court that Roche had asked him if he could get TNT explosives.

"He said he had been directed by bin Laden to blow up the Israeli embassy and (the consulate in) York Street, Sydney," Mr Fraser said.

Roche allegedly was driven, with his son, to Canberra for surveillance work on the embassy.

But Mr Fraser said Roche abandoned his plan in mid to late 2001.

Mr Davies told the jury that for the sake of the conspiracy charge, it did not matter that the attack was never carried out.